Gore Mountain is taking a step back in time.

That’s not saying that the mountain itself is taking a step back, as a matter of fact they are leaping ahead with new lifts, trails and lots of things planned for the near future including a lift down to North Creek into the ski bowl

Now lets that step back.

Gore Mountain Snow Train

The 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid inspired a number of North Creek locals to build ski trails in their area. The first rope tows in the state were put in using a revolving drum hooked to a Ford V-8 engine.

On March 4, 1934, the first Delaware & Hudson ski train from Schenectady came to North Creek with 378 skiers. Local busses and trucks were put into service to carry passengers to the higher trails and local homes were used for boarding houses.

By 1936, trains were coming from New York City as well. These continued into the early 1940’s.

Today or I should say after the first of the year the ski train is now back in operation. It does not come from Schenectady as it did in the past but will be starting in Saratoga, bringing you up to North Creek for a day or 2 or more of skiing at Gore.

The schedule is such that you board the train at 7 a.m. and get to North Creek about 9a.m. there will be shuttles to bring you up to the mountain ( about a 5 minute drive from the town) and bring you back down to the train at about 4:30 for the ride back to Saratoga.

I am sure you are questioning why take the train; it’s only an hour to get to Gore from Saratoga. My answer is simple, for the experience. Not only is it nice to sit and relax on the train but there is the opportunity to actually have breakfast on the train on the way up if you reserve your seat in the dome car( a little more expensive). This past weekend we took the train ride along the Upper Hudson River, it is beautiful to see and most don’t get to see it ever unless you whitewater canoe. My 12 year old grandson came along with me and though it was great.

The ski package is actually about the same cost as the ski ticket to Gore so just parking at the train station in Saratoga will save you about $20 to $30 dollar depending on the fuel consumption of your vehicle. Along with that you can also avoid the bad weather and traffic. You don’t have to worry about the road conditions, parking on the access road or even filling the tank. You can start you day on the train with a hot breakfast on the way up. Ski all day and Après ski with a couple of drinks as well as a full dinner menu on the way home.

The snow train will be operating Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Late December till the end of March. The price of the ticket, includes the lift ticket, as well as 2 drinks on the way back (over 21 of course) in the bar car and as I said before that cost is about the same as a full priced ticket at Gore. So it not only will be a unique experience but also reasonable. For more information go to www. GoreMountainSnowTrain.com

Back to Gore Mountain this past weekend, although there was limited skiing available, the conditions were great with all machine made snow from the top of the gondola to the base lodge on Sunway about half way down then cutoff and one other trail There were a few more trails open on Top ridge and the snow guns were running full blast to continue getting more trails ready for this upcoming holiday week. On top of the conditions being consistently good the trails held up well into the later part of the day due to the crowds being moderate in size.